Pianoforte



April 5, 1938. w. EVANS 2,113,045

PIANOFORTE Filed Feb. 12, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTQR y MMHM April 5, 1938. w EVANS 2,113,045

PIANOFORTE Filed Feb. 12, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 5, 1938. w. EVANS 2,113,045

PIANOFORTE Filed Feb. 12, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mvsm'oR 60,0842.

Patented Apr. 5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application February 12, 1936, Serial No. 63,476 In Great Britain November 7, 1935 9 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to pianofortes of the kind in which the top wall of the case of the piano does not extend much above the level of the keyboard as is the case in miniature upright pianos at present much in vogue.

Objects of the present invention are to improve the tonal properties of the piano and to provide a lid for the keyboard which is simple in structure and neat in appearance.

In miniature upright pianos of the above kind it is usual for the rear edge of the keyboard lid to be hinged to the top of the casing and for a partition to extend upwardly from the rear of the keyboard to the top of the casing so as to obscure the gap which would otherwise be present when the lid is open.

According to this invention, a miniature upright piano of the kind first referred to above is characterized in that the keyboard lid is so mounted that when it is moved into an open position a gap is formed between it and the top wall of the case. With this arrangement the sound- Waves can emerge without interference from the top of the piano.

A feature of the invention consists in that the keyboard lid. is so mounted that when in an open position its lower edge is located close to and at the rear of the upper faces of the usually exposed parts of the keys and extends above the top of the casing. It will be appreciated that with this arrangement there is no necessity to provide a partition such as is referred to above since the lid fulfills the purpose of such a partition. Preferably the keyboard lid is flat and when in an open position extends in an inclined manner to form a rack for music.

A constructional feature of the invention consists in that the sides of the piano casing extend above the keyboard and in that said lid is pivotally mounted between said sides so that the axis of pivoting is parallel to and disposed away from the rear edge of the lid and is located near the top of said sides. Preferably when the lid is in a closed position it lies in a horizontal plane and has pivoted to its front edge a flange which corresponds in width to the amount by which said side walls project above the keyboard. The purpose of pivotally' mounting the said flange portion is to enable it to be swung into the same plane as that of the other part of the lid when the lid is open whereby it serves, together with the lid, to form a part of the music rest.

In an upright piano having a front wall beneath the keyboard and a soundboard at the back of the piano and an aperture above the keyboard as referred to above, a feature of the invention consists in that said front wall is inclined in relation to the soundboard. This arrangement is found considerably to improve the tonal 5 properties of the piano as compared with the usual arrangement in which the front wall beneath the keyboard is vertical and parallel with the soundboard at the back of the piano. This is thought to be due to the fact that while in the usual construction the parallel disposition of said front wall and the soundboard causes the soimdwaves to be reflected backwards and forwards between these two parts and to a large extent to be absorbed within the piano casing, in the construction according to the present invention, since the front wall and the soundboard are inclined in relation to one another, the soundwaves will ultimately be reflected out of the said aperture. Preferably the said front wall is so inclined that its upper edge is further from the soundboard than is the lower edge. A suitable angle for the inclination is found to be from 10 to 15 to the vertical.

In an alternative form of construction, the keyboard lid is so mounted as to be movable bodily upwardly and rearwardly away from the keyboard as distinct from hinging about a fixed axis; for example, the lid may be so mounted that its rearward edge may be moved upwardly 30 to a greater extent than the forward edge while the forward edge may be moved rearwardly to a greater extent than the rearward edge. Thus the lid, when in an open position, may be arranged to have an inclination suitable for supporting music. For this purpose the lid is preferably flat with or without a flange at its forward edge and when in a closed position may be inclined upwardly and rearwardly from said forward edge. 40

A feature of the invention consists in attaching a supporting ledge to a fixed part of the piano at the rear of the exposed parts of the keys which ledge is obscured by said lid when it is closed.

A constructional feature of the invention consists in that the lid is constrained to move in the manner referred to above by a pin-and-slot connection between it and a side of the piano.

The following is a description of two alternative constructions of miniature upright pianos, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a part side elevation and part section of the piano on line II of Fig. 2, showing the lid in an open position,

Figure 2 is a front elevation showing the lid closed,

Figure 3 is a section of the upper part of the piano similar to Figure 1 showing the lid partly raised.

Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3 showing the lid closed,

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3 but to a larger scale, and

Figure 6 is a section through an alternative form of construction showing the lid open in full lines and the lid closed in chain lines.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the drawings.

As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the lid I0 is flat and has a downwardly-extending flange I I at its forward edge. The lid, when in a closed position, is disposed between the side walls I2 of the piano and assumes an inclined position. The upper parts I3 of the side walls are so shaped as to lie parallel with and nearly flush with the lid when the latter is closed. The back wall of the piano is provided with an upper horizontal extension or wall I4 to the rear of the lid. The sides I2 extend forwardly on each side of the keyboard I5, which latter is provided with a front piece I6 on which the flange II of the lid rests when it is closed, as will be seen from Figure 4. Secured on each side of the lid in the region of the flange II is a metal pin or peg I! as best seen from Figure 5. The metal pin has formed integral therewith a metal plate IS which is spaced away from the underside of the lid by a packing piece I9. The plate and the packing piece are secured to the lid by wood screws 20. To the inside face of each side wall I2 there is secured above the keyboard a sheet of wood or metal H in which is formed a slot 22 for engagement by the aforesaid pin. Secured also to the inside face of each side wall near the upper horizontal wall I4 is a roller 23 which engages the inside face of the lid. This roller 23, together with the slots 22 and the pins I'l, constitutes guide means by which the lid is constrained to move and by which it is located in its open position. The roller is so disposed that when the lid is closed its upper edge 24 is spaced a short distance away from the edge of the wall I4. Secured to the inside face of the lid at each end thereof is a ramp 25 which is brought into engagement with the roller 23 when the lid is moved from a closed to an open position. Extending between the two side walls I2 of the casing and towards the rear part of the exposed portion of the keys 26 is a ledge 27.

It will be noted that the slot 22 is provided towards its forward end with a downwardly-extending portion 28; there is also a slight inflection 29 towards the middle of the slot and there is a downwardly-extending part 30 towards the rear end of the slot. The lid is provided across its width with, two manipulating handles. 3|. To open the lid the handles are raised upwardly during which time the peg I I moves to the upper extremity of the downwardly-extending part 28 of the slot. The upper part of the lid pivots on the roller 23 but the end of the lid does not contact with the wall I4 by reason of the provision of the small gap 24a between these twoparts. The handles 3| are then pushed rearwardly and upwardly and the peg slides along the inclined portion of the slot while the inside face of the lid moves over said roller 23 which then comes into contact with the ramp 25 whereby the lid is caused to assume a steeper inclination and its rear edge is withdrawn upwardly away fromv the edge of the wall I4. Eventually the peg will reach the upper end of the part 30 of the slot and the flange I I of the lid will have passed over the top of the ledge 21. The peg, by a downward movement of the handles 3|, is lowered to the bottom of the slot part 30 and the flange will pass behind the ledge 21. In order to prevent the lid from being accidentally tilted forward, when. in this position, a recess 32 is formed in the front part of the ramp 25, which recess is arranged to engage a pin 33 fixed in the side wall of the casing when the peg is lowered into the part 30 of the slot. Furthermore, the pin is so positioned in relation to the slot part 30 that the lower edge of the lid is just prevented from coming into contact with the rear face. of the ledge 27 whereby rubbing of the lid is prevented. The lid is arranged to be an easy sliding fit between the side walls I2 and in order to provide a dust-tight joint a strip of felt 34 is inset into each side edge of the lid and pro- J'ects therefrom so as to engage the inner faces of the side walls, as shown in Figure 5.

It will be seen from Figure 1 that when the lid I0 is open a substantial space 250. is left between it and the forward edge of the top wall I4. This space is found substantially to improve the tonal properties of the piano. Furthermore, when viewed from the front, the lid serves to obscure the internal parts above the keyboard which would otherwise be seen and thus renders the use of a separate partition. un-

necessary.

Mounted across the back of the piano is the usual soundboard 6 while beneath the keyboard at the front of the casing is a front wall 8 which is carried by lower frame members "I.

It will be noted that the front wall is inclined in relation to the soundboard so that its upper edge is further from the soundboard than is the lower edge. The angle of inclination to the vertical may be from 10 to 15. The wall is removably mounted on one of the cross members I by dowel connections: 5 and its upper edge is held in position by cleats 4 pivotally secured to the underside of the keyboard I5.

Many modifications may be made to the above construction. For example, instead of a musicsupporting ledge 21 being provided, the handles 3| on. the outside of the lid could be replaced by a single rail towards the centre of the lid which would operate as a music support when the lid is open. Furthermore, the same kind of movement for the lid could be provided by means other than a pin-and-socket connection. For example, there might be pivotally secured to each side of the lid, towards the rear edge thereof, a lever arm which is itself pivotally secured to a fixed part of the piano so that the two lever arms, together with the lid, may be swung upwardly and rearwardly in the operation of opening the lid. The lid may be retained in an open position by a music-supporting ledge as already described above.

In an alternative form of construction shown in Figure 6 the lid is formed in two parts 40 and 4|. When in a closed position, as shown in chain lines, the part 40 lies in a horizontal plane and forms a continuation of the top wall I4 of the piano casing. The top wall is fixed to the back 43 of the piano. The other portion of the lid 4| is pivotally attached to the part support for the music.

10 by a metal plate 4 4' secured on each side of the part ll! towards the forward edge thereof, for example by wood screws '9, which plate carries a pivot pin 45 arranged 'to engage suitable holes in the ends of the part 41. The lid is pivotally mounted "between the two side walls 12 of the piano. The pivotal mounting comprises a small metal plate 41 secured oneach side of the part Ill of the lid at some distance away from the rear edge thereof. Each plate carries a pivot 'pin 48 which is arranged to engage an upwardly-extending slot 49 formed in another metal plate '50 which is inset in the side walls l2 of the piano. It will be appreciated that with this arrangement the whole lid, if desired, may "be completely removed from the piano. Extending between the two side walls I2 is a wooden ledge 5!, the rear face '2 of which forms a stop for the lower part of the lid when it is in an open position, as shown in Figure 6, and is so disposed that the lid assumes anangle of inclina- "tion suitable for locating the music. The upper face of the ledge is shaped at 53 to provide a Both the rearward edge of the lid and the forward edge of the top wall of the casing-are chamfered at 62 and 54, respectively.

It will be noted that when the lid is in an open position, a gap 60 is left between the back of the lid and the forward edge of the top wall 1'4 and this gap is found to improve the tonal properties of the piano since it permits the sound- *waves to issue without obstruction. Also it will be noted that the lower edge of the lid is located close to the upper surfaces of the usually exposed parts of the keys 3.

It will be noted that at the point of junction between the parts #0 and 4| of the lid, the former part is provided with a right-angled recess 6|. 'The walls 55 and 56 serve to locate the part II in its limiting position. The wall 56 is of such a length that when the part ii is in the closed position, a lip 51 is provided whereby the lid may be raised. The outer end of the part 4| is suitably shaped to engage the front wall I6 of the keyboard. Extending from beneath the keyboard is a sloping front wall 8 as described with reference to the construction shown in Figures 1 to 5. This sloping front wall, together with the gap 60 between the lid and the top wall [4, is found to enhance the tonal properties of the piano.

It will be appreciated that many modifications may be made to details of the mounting of the lid which retain such features of this invention as the provision of an opening between the lid and piano casing when the lid is open and the use of the inside face of the lid as a music-rest.

I claim:

1. An upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper ends of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard lid adapted when closed to cover both the keyboard and the gap between the keyboard and the side walls and horizontal wall, guide means for constraining the front part of the lid to move in a backwards and forwards direction, guide means for constraining the rear part of the lid to move in an up and down direction, stop means for locating the lid in an open position spaced away from the forward edge of the horizontal wall, a soundboard disposed at the rear of the keyboard, and a fiat front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls, which "front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between thematapering space communicat- 'ing with said gap and having its larger dimension uppermost. I v

'2. An upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper ends of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard-lid adapted when closed to cover both the keyboard and the gap between the keyboard and the side walls and horizontal wall, guide means for constraining the front part of the lid to move in a backwards and forwards direction, guide means for constraining the rear part of the lid to move man up and down direction, stop means for locating the lid in an open'position spaced away from the forward edge of the horizontal wall and at an inclination suitable for locating the music, a soundboard disposed at the rear of the keyboard, and a flat front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space communicating with said gap and having its larger dimension uppermost.

3. An upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper ends of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said :side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a. keyboard lid adapted when closed to cover both the keyboard and the gap between the keyboard and the side walls and horizontal wall, guide means for constraining the front part of the lid to move in a backwards andforwards direction,

"guide means for constraining the rear part of the lid to move "in an up and down direction,

stop means for locating the lid in an open position spaced away from the forward edge of the horizontal wall and at an inclination suitable 'for locating the music and a fixed ledge for supporting the bottom edges "of the music, 'which ledge is disposed at the rear of the exposed parts of the keys, a soundboard disposed at the rear of the keyboard, and a flat front wall disposed beneath the keyboard "and between'the side walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space communicating with said gap and having its larger dimension uppermost.

4. An upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper ends of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard lid adapted, when closed, to cover both the keyboard and the gap between the keyboard, the side walls and the horizontal wall, a guideway associated with each side wall, a projection on each side of the lid towards the forward edge thereof, which projections are adapted to engage said guideways, a guide member fixed to each side wall above and to the rear of the guideways and adapted to engage the inside face of the lid, which guideways and guide members together constrain the forward edge of the lid to move backwards and forwards and the rearward edge of the lid up and down and to locate the lid in an open position spaced away from the forward edge of the horizontal wall, a soundboard disposed to the rear of the keyboard, and a flat front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space communicating with said gap and having its larger dimension uppermost.

5. An upright piano comprising side walls, a

"horizontal wall between the upper ends of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard lid adapted, when closed, to cover both the keyboard and the gap between the keyboard, the side walls and the horizontal wall, a pivotal mounting for said lid arranged with the axis of the pivoting parallel to the rear edge of the lid above the keyboard and at a distance away from the rear edge of the lid slightly less than the distance from the keyboard, stop means for locating the lid in an open position at a distance away from the forward edge of the horizontal wall, a soundboard disposed to the rear of the keyboard, and a flat front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space communicating with said gap and having its larger dimension uppermost.

6. An upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper ends of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard lid adapted, when closed, to cover both the keyboard and the gap between the keyboard, the side walls and the horizontal wall, a pivotal mounting for said lid arranged with the axis of pivoting parallel to the rear edge of the lid above the keyboard and at a distance away from the rear edge of the lid slightly less than the distance from the keyboard, stop means for locating the lid in an open position at a distance away from. the forward edge of the horizontal wall, a flanged member pivotally attached to the forward edge of the lid and adapted to engage the forward part of the keyboard when the lid is closed so as to locate the lid in a horizontal position, a soundboard disposed to the rear of the keyboard, and a flat front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side Walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space communicating with said gap and having its larger dimension uppermost.

7. An upright piano comprising side walls, a

keyboard extending between said side walls, a

keyboard lid adapted when open to provide together with said side walls an upwardly facing opening and when closed to cover said opening, guide means adapted to locate said lid in an open position, a soundboard disposed to the rear of the keyboard, a front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls which front walls and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space having its larger dimension uppermost and directed towards said upwardly facing opening.

8. An upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper ends of said side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard lid adapted when open to provide between it the side walls and the horizontal wall an upwardly facing opening and when closed adapted to cover both the keyboard and said opening, guide means adapted to locate said lid in an open position, a soundboard disposed to the rear of the keyboard, and a front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space having its larger dimension uppermost and directed towards said upwardly facing opening.

9. A miniature upright piano comprising side walls, a horizontal wall between the upper end of the side walls, a keyboard extending between said side walls beneath said horizontal wall, a keyboard lid adapted when open to extend above said horizontal wall and together with said side walls and the horizontal wall to provide an upwardly facing opening, and when closed to cover said keyboard and said opening, a soundboard disposed to the rear of the keyboard and a front wall disposed beneath the keyboard and between the side walls, which front wall and soundboard are arranged to provide between them a tapering space directed towards said upwardly facing opening and having its larger dimension uppermost.

WILLIE EVANS. 

